Tom Delay appointee involved in drug running?

Daniel Hopsicker has dug up a remarkable story -- one which I have been trying to take a small step or two further:

One of the two owners of the DC9 (tail number N900SA) busted at an airport in the Yucatan last week after lumbering in from Caracas, Venezuela carrying an astonishing 5.5 TONS of cocaine was appointed in 1993 to the Business Advisory Council of the National Republican Congressional Committee by then-Congressional Majority Leader Tom Delay, The MadCowMorningNews can exclusively report.

The plane's registered owner, “Royal Sons LLC,” a Florida air charter company, was at one time housed in a hanger at the Venice Fl. Airport owned by infamous flight school Huffman Aviation.

Interestingly enough, the DC9 was painted to resemble an official government aircraft.

The Delay appointee in question is Brent Kovar, owner of a firm called Skyway Communications Holding Corp. The firm ran into a few problems between 2002 and 2005 -- in fact, it lost $40 million and had to file for bankruptcy. (Note: On his site, Hopsicker mistakenly refers to Kovar as "Kovac." I am sure he will correct the typo soon.)

Despite this less-than-impressive performance, Delay decided to promote Kovak as a businessman par excellence:

"Congressman Tom Delay, Majority Leader, has appointed Brent C Kovar to serve as the Honorary Chairman, Business Advisory Council,” read the headline of an August 7, 2003 release from PrimeZone Media newswire and press release service.

The Business Advisory Council, explained the release, was part of the National Republican Congressional Committee, “dedicated to making sure that small business has a voice in Washington.”

Kovar was appointed “in recognition of his valuable contributions and dedication to the Republican Party,” and was "expected to play a crucial role in the party's efforts to involve top businesspeople in the process of government reform both at the state and federal levels."

Skyway, in a partnership with a firm called Royal Sons Motor Yacht Sales (otherwise known as just plain "Royal Sons"), purchased the DC9.

I suspect that we may see a variation of the "piano player in the whorehouse" defense: Kovar had no idea that so much cocaine had somehow found its way onto his airplane. Some observers may be reminded of John Delorean, another up-against-the-wall entrepreneur who turned to the cocaine trade when he could come up with no better way to keep his operation afloat.

Hopsicker believes that "Royal Sons" was itself a cover for the CIA. That may well be. But I would caution that the American intelligence community is large; there are many agencies and many semi-independent players.

This story appears to focus on the very same DC9 that hauled in the drugs. The name of the craft was -- prepare to chuckle -- Stars and Stripes. Skyway purchased the airplane pursuant to its stated goal of

...developing a unique ground to air in-flight aircraft communication network that it anticipates will facilitate homeland security and in-flight entertainment. SkyWay is focused on bringing to the market a network supporting aircraft-related service including anti-terrorism support, real time in-flight surveillance and monitoring, WIFI access to the Internet, telephone service and enhanced entertainment service for commercial and private aircraft throughout the United States.

Homeland security. Anti-terrorism. No doubt that explains the need for 5.5 tons of the white stuff.

The story gets more amusing. Despite its Chapter 11 status, Skyway assures investors on its home page that the company "is reviewing all possibilities related to operations and capital formation in order to get back on track to continue with its original business plan."

And in this very revealing article from the Tampa Bay Business Journal, we learn that Skyway planned to get out of its hole by relaying on certain "white knights." And who were these worthies...?

"A venture capital group is ready to do this," he said citing talks with some of the original Arab investors, and "the end result is it's going well," Kovar said.

Oh ho.

So let's get the chronology straight. Kovar's company hits bankruptcy court. He tells the judge that mysterious "Arabs" will soon bail him out. Next thing ya know, his DC9 is caught hauling in tons of nose candy.

Maybe that explains why (according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal) Skyway's own lawyers, handling what should have been a routine Chapter 11 case, decided to treat the company as though it were radioactive...

Incidentally, Hopsicker hasn't yet divulged any info about these "Arab investors." But he does connect the 5.5 ton coke shipment to the same milieu inhabited by Atta and company. In previous posts, we have discussed the likelihood that Al Qaeda-related personnel were involved in "protected" drug importation rackets.

You keep some interesting company, Mr. Delay. I'm curious: Just how did you and Mr. Kovar get to know each other in the first place...?

Postscript: This story pictures the National Republican Congressional Committee's Business Advisory Council as something of a scam, in which "honorary chairmanships" are handed out in exchange for donations. However, this press release from Kovar indicates that the matter goes rather deeper, at least in his case.

Mr. Kovar was quoted as saying, "This appointment by Congressman Tom Delay will give SkyWay opportunities and direct contact to top decision makers within the executive and legislative branches enabling SkyWay to customize its homeland security and public safety products to the needs of the federal and state governments."

By the way, googling the names "Brent Kovar" and Tom Delay" resulted in one rather intriguing listing -- unfortunately, neither the link nor the cache go anywhere:

Featured Company - Our-Street.com
Brent Kovar really did it TO you here. the so called "duPont Trust" involved with ... Brent Kovar is a liar and con. I wish there was another way TO put it, ...
www.our-street.com/swyc.htm - 109k - Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages

Hmmm. If I get time later today, I may check out the WayBack machine site. Unless a reader cares to help out....

(Yes, once again, we enter the world of weird internet companies that somehow seem not quite "real." For example, check out where this intriguingly-named URL heads off to: www.homelandsecurityenforcement.com/pnstocreleases.htm)